Týdeník Veřejná správa

Brush Up Your English (Slovníček)

Czech centre-right wins elections by a whisker (I.)

Vyšlo v čísle 28/2006

The main Czech conservative party has won the country's parliamentary elections held on Friday and Saturday (2-3 June) but it remains unlikely that it will set up a majority government coalition. The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) tops the election results table with 35.4 percent of the votes, followed by the former ruling party - social democrats - (32.3%), the communists (12.8%), the christian democrats (7.2%) and the greens (6.3%), according to press reports.
to win – vyhrát (irreg. verb: win, won, won) elections – volby by a whisker – o fous, o vlásek parliamentary – parlamentní to hold elections – pořádat volby to remain – zůstat unlikely –nepravděpodobný to set up – vytvořit, sestavit to top – být na vrcholu table – tabulka vote – hlas followed by – následován čím former – dřívější according to – podle

Around 64.5 percent of Czech voters turned out to cast their ballot. The vote has produced an exact divide between the right and left-leaning parties, with a hundred MPs on both sides. Doubts have emerged over the chances of any of the front runners forming a cabinet, with analysts saying the elections have left the country in a political stalemate.
voter – volič to turn out – objevit se, ukázat se to cast – házet (irreg. verb: cast, cast, cast) ballot – hlasovací lístek exact – přesný divide – předěl to lean – opírat se, přiklánět se (irreg. verb: lean, leant, leant) party – politická strana MP = member of parliament – poslanec both – oba, obojí doubt – pochybnost to emerge – objevit se front runner – vedoucí (strana, závodník atp.) cabinet – vláda stalemate - pat

The weekend poll came after an unprecedented campaign centred around the two largest centre-left and centre-right parties' leaders, full of last-minute allegations of corruption against both camps. Shortly after the elections, the social democrat CSSD chief and outgoing prime minister Jiri Paroubek said he might challenge the result in court, referring to what he called slanderous attacks on him from the conservatives in the run-up to the voting.
poll – volby unprecedented – nebývalý, bezpříkladný to centre round – točit se okolo party – politická strana allegation – neopodstatněné tvrzení, obvinění against – proti camp – tábor shortly – krátce chief – šéf, předseda outgoing – odcházející prime-minister – předseda vlády to challenge – vyzvat to challenge the result – zpochybnit výsledek court – soud to refer to – odvolávat se na slanderous – nactiutrhačný, pomlouvačný run-up to – závěrečná fáze (voleb, závodu, soutěže atp.)

Připravuje Markéta Frýbová